Taisho's Eleven
by HarlequinArtist
Summary: The game is set. The players are ready to do their parts. The payoff is over 160 million split 11 ways. You do the math. Masashi Kishimoto's characters set into the plot of Ocean's Eleven. Gaara/OC
1. The Release

Author's Note: I do not own the plot-line for this fic. Ocean's 11 and its original character's belong to Warner Bros. The other characters used belong to Masashi Kishimoto. The only character I own is Miyuki.

"Good morning" an older, female, voice said. Twenty-eight year old Miyuki Taisho is sitting, hand-cuffed in a chair in the center of the prison's gymnasium. She stared at the panel in front of her through ink-black bangs, her grey-blue eyes calculating and mischievous. "Good morning" she answered politely. There was the sound of paper's rustling, and a file being opened.

"Please state your name for the record." The voice asked.

"Miyuki Taisho"

"Thank you. Miss Taisho, the purpose of this hearing is to determine whether you are likely to break the law again. While this was your first conviction, you have been implicated, though never charged, in a dozen other schemes and frauds. What can you tell us about this?"

Miyuki's mouth twitched as she stifled the urge to smirk.

"As you said ma'am, I was never charged." She answered.

"Miss Taisho, what we're trying to find out is, was there a reason for committing this crime, or was there a reason you got caught this time?" asked a male voice.

Miyuki sighed, giving the panel a sad 'pity me' smile.

"My husband left me. I was upset. I fell into a self-destructive pattern."

There was an uncomfortable cough from the female panel member, and Miyuki knew she had them.

"If released, is it likely you'd fall back into a similar pattern?" the female panel member asked.

This caused Miyuki to chuckle.

"He left me once. I don't think he'd do it again just for kicks."

"Miss Taisho, what do you think you _would_ do, if released?"

Miyuki stared at the panel for a moment, and the corner of her mouth turned up in a smirk.

Moments later, she was being escorted down the hallway by a uniformed guard. Her handcuffs were removed once she entered the check-out station. She was given her personal possessions and had to sign a form saying they'd been returned to her. She was left with a single female guard as she changed into the dress-suit she had been in when she had gotten arrested. She opened a small manila envelope and dumped a dainty silver band with a modest diamond and two sapphires. She rolled it between her fingers, staring at it for a moment before tucking it into her small purse. She exited the penitentiary gates and looked around, shivering in the cold winter air. She looked around, and a grin broke out across her face.


	2. An Old Friend

AN: Once again. I do not own the Ocean's Eleven plot line, nor any of the Naruto characters. Miyuki however, does belong to me. Also, I realize the first chapter was pretty short. I was going to break the chapter's up by individual scenes in the movie, but seeing as that apparently isn't going to work, I'll combine 2 or 3 scenes and just put breaks between them.

Atlantic City, NJ (later that night)

Miyuki rode the escalator up to the casino in the Trump Plaza Hotel. She had exchanged the wrinkled dress suit for a more casual look. Black dress pants and a blue shirt that brought out her eyes. She walked past the loud slot machines and the busy poker tables, grinning a bit. She sat down at an empty blackjack table and pulled several one hundreds' out of her wallet.

"Chips please" she said, tucking her wallet back into her purse.

"Sure" the dealer said, taking the money and setting a stack of chips down on the bright green felt in front of Miyuki.

"Change 150, would you like quarters or nickels?"

Miyuki looked up and smiled.

"Quarters are fine."

"Good luck"

The dealer nodded and started shuffling.

"Thanks" Miyuki said, not paying attention to the dealer, but looking around the room. Over by another table, the pit boss was talking to a tanned Asian man. The man had chocolate colored hair pulled up into a ponytail and a thin scar across the bridge of his nose. Miyuki grinned a little, glad to see a familiar face so soon. The man finished his conversation and started walking towards her table.

"Twenty. Dealer has nineteen. Good start" the dealer said.

Miyuki's attention went back to the table in front of her, watching her chips double. The dealer picked the cards up and started shuffling again. Miyuki was playing with her chips, watching. The dealer set the deck down.

"I'm going on break now."

Miyuki nodded and handed the dealer a few chips.

"Here. Thank you." She said.

The dealer took the chips with a smile and turned to leave.

"Good luck" she called over her shoulder as the man Miyuki had been watching, took over.

"You have a good one" the man said, starting to shuffle the deck left behind. He looked at Miyuki, but made no expression as to whether he recognized her or not.

"How are you, miss?"

Miyuki smirked mischievously at him.

"Hello Iruka"

The man froze, looking around to make sure no one heard her and gave the woman in front of him a half glare, before smiling again as the pit boss walked by.

"I beg your pardon, miss. You must have me confused with someone else. My name is Ramon, as you can see right here."

Iruka pointed to the name tag on his uniform's vest, and continued shuffling. Miyuki did look, and raised an eyebrow at the most Asian-looking Ramon she had ever seen. She didn't comment on it though and began picking up her chips.

"My mistake"

Miyuki started playing with the ring, she had eventually put on, spinning it around her finger.

Iruka nodded at her, a friendly smile on his face.

"No problem, miss"

Miyuki nodded and grabbed her purse.

"Table's cold anyway"

Iruka looked down at her doubled chips and rolled his eyes discreetly before a friendly smile was back on his face. He started shuffling the cards.

"You might want to try the lounge at Caesar's. Get's busy after 1:00."

Miyuki looked intrigued.

"1:00?"

"Yes, miss."

Miyuki shouldered her purse, nodded.

"Thank you, Ramon"

Miyuki walked away, disappearing amongst the slot machines. Iruka watched her leave, before smiling a bit.

"Thankyou"

* * *

Miyuki looked at her watch, it read 12:58. She sighed and ordered a martini taking it to a small table in a darker corner. She pulled a newspaper out of her purse and leaned back in the comfortable chair to start reading. The main article read in bold 'Las Vegas landmark to be razed.' Miyuki looked at the picture, glaring at the man in the forefront of the picture. He had long black hair, and a pale face, looking somewhat akin to a porcelain doll. In the background, a man with spiky white hair was smoking a cigar, frowning at the man in front.

"Checking up on current events?"

Miyuki looked up, startled, as Iruka walked around him to sit in the chair across from her.

"Ramon"

Iruka grinned at her.

"Glad to meet you. Iruka Umino couldn't get past the gaming board"

Iruka looked her over.

"You just get out?" he asked.

Miyuki took a sip of her martini and nodded.

"This afternoon. You seen him?"

Iruka rolled his eyes.

"Last I heard, he was teaching movie stars to play cards."

Iruka stopped for a second, and looked at her, a small smirk appearing on his face.

"Why? You've got a plan already?"

Miyuki chuckled.

"Are you kidding? I just became a citizen again" she said, but her tone made it sound as if she had said ' Of course I have a plan already.'

* * *

Miyuki walked up to a payphone, carrying another martini with her. She set it on top of the phone box and fished into her pockets for a business card. She slid some quarters into the phone and dialed the number, holding the receiver to her ear listening to the ring. A person picked up.

"Officer Morino? This is Yuki Taisho. I was told to contact you within 24 hours"

Miyuki stopped listening to the man, while putting the card back in her pocket.

"No sir, I haven't been getting into any trouble."

Another pause. Miyuki took a sip of the martini.

"No sir, I haven't been drinking."

Another question, and Miyuki started chuckling silently.

"No sir, I wouldn't even think of leaving the state."


	3. The Poker Game

AN: I do not own Ocean's Eleven, nor do I own any characters from Naruto. The only thing I own is Miyuki. Also, like some of my predecessors, the stars at the poker game aren't major roles, so I'm leaving them unchanged. Mostly out of laziness on my part.

Hollywood, CA

A young man is leaning against an old green Ford Falcon Fortuna eating out of a small carton of nachos. His pitch black hair glowing blue in some places under the UV-lighting of the parking lot.

"Hey Sas. Sasuke! What's up man?"

The man turns to look. He sighs through his nose, another long and tedious night ahead of him. He pushes off of his car and walks over to his client, Topher Grace. They both walk over to an alleyway, barred by an iron gate. Sasuke throws his nachos away, Topher at his side.

"Let me ask you a question. Are you incorporated?"

Sasuke snorts and shakes his head, pulling the gate open and walking into the alley, Topher following behind him.

"Well, ok, if you're not, you should think about it. I talked to my manager last night—"

"Bernie?" Sasuke cut him off, still sucking nacho cheese from his fingers.

"No not Bernie. My business manager….actually….you know what? They're both named Bernie. Anyway, he said that what we do could be considered research, for like a future gig or whatever, so I could totally make it a tax write-off."

Sasuke was mildly tuning the man out, navigating through the back of a local club. Topher reached out, snagging Sasuke's sleeve, making the man stop.

"The one thing is, and this is his thing, and it's stupid…but I'd have to pay you by check."

Sasuke had crossed his arms and was now pinning Topher with a scathing glare. Topher stuttered a bit under the full force death-glare before caving in completely.

"Or we could just stick to cash" he said weakly.

Sasuke smirked and nodded walking past the starlet.

"Yeah, let's just stick to cash." Topher said following him into the packed dance floor.

Sasuke picked his way through the undulating bodies, Topher following close behind him. They waded through the packed dance-floor, to a door at the back where two beefy bodyguards stood. They walked right in, the door closing behind them.

* * *

Sasuke was sitting next to Topher at the large poker table, with four other well known starlets. This was where he was teaching them to play poker. He toyed with the cool deck of cards in his hand, looking around at his students.

"We'll begin with five-card draw. Everyone remember five-card draw?" he said. He got a series of confirmations.

"Who wants to start us out? Josh?"

"Yeah"

Sasuke handed over the deck and Josh picked it up and started dealing to the right. Sasuke fought the urge to roll his eyes.

"Josh. To the left. Deal to your left." He corrected the man.

Josh dealt the rest of the cards to the left and they got started.

"Shane?" Sasuke looked to the man on Topher's right.

"Hit me."

Sasuke started to look a little annoyed.

"It's not blackjack."

Topher laughed.

"Dude!"

The others laughed as well, Shane joining in after a minute. Sasuke looked to his immediate left where Barry Watson was sitting, looking nervously at his cards.

"Looking at them doesn't change them. You know what you have."

They played the round through. Sasuke folded, even though he holds a full house, letting one of his ignorant pupils win. Josh is dealing again, once again going to his right instead of to the left. Sasuke saw it as too big to ignore.

"Josh. Left, left."

Josh sighed starting over and going to his left.

"Left, I'll get it."

Josh dealt the cards and they got started. Sasuke was starting to get impatient.

"Lady bets. Let's keep it moving." He directed at Holly.

She looked at her chips before picking up two and setting them in the middle.

"Blue"

"Blue, that's a 50"

Shane picked up the same chips from his own pile and looked at Sasuke for confirmation.

"I'll call?"

"Okay. Shane's calling."

Topher was next and he threw it in with a smirk.

"What the hell, its only pocket change?"

He started to laugh obnoxiously and the other's joined in. Sasuke folded his fingers, trying not to lose his temper.

"How you bet is your business. You want to make them think you're betting for a reason."

Topher looked uninterestedly at his hand, rolling the toothpick in his mouth.

"Yeah, thanks man."

Sasuke pushed his hands off the table where Topher had been holding his hand in plain sight where Seth, on his right, would be able to see them.

"Right"

Sasuke looked back over to Barry, folding his arms.

"All right, how many?"

"Four" Barry said, setting the cards down.

Sasuke stared, astounded for a second before shaking his head.

"You don't want four. You wanna fold."

"I wanna fold?"

"Fold."

Barry looked around the table nervously before looking at Sasuke's stern features.

"Is that good?"

Sasuke sighed and reached out, taking the man's hand and setting it down on the table.

"You're done."

Barry tried to argue but Sasuke cut him off.

"Your done." He said with finality.

He looked over to Shane and did a double take at the man's hand.

"Shane you have three pairs"

"Yeah?"

"You can't have six cards in a five-card game."

Sasuke looked over at Josh, his expression an almost-glare. Holly tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.

"Maybe one was mine"

An argument started. Josh bickering with Sasuke and Seth, with Holly trying to keep the peace adding her two cents.

"Fellas. Fellas!"

All eyes went to Topher who set his hand on the table gleefully.

"All reds."

Sasuke stared at the hand containing a nine of hearts, a seven of hearts, an eight of diamonds, a three of diamonds, and a jack of hearts. Sasuke rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"Let's take a break"

* * *

Sasuke orders a double, holding the cool glass against his skin. He's watching the girl dance behind the glass, not really interested, but needing something to get his mind off the disaster in the backroom. He sets down one glass, the bartender handing him another.

"How's the game going?" the bartender shouts over the music.

"The longest hour of my life"

Sasuke took a sip of his drink. The bartender smiles for a second before turning his head, his ear facing Sasuke.

"What!?"

Sasuke stops, in mid-sip and looks at the bartender and says in the same tone:

"I'm running away with your wife"

The bartender grins at him, still not hearing what he said and gives him a thumbs up.

"Great!"

Sasuke smiles and chuckles into his glass taking a long swing. He doesn't notice Miyuki pass directly behind him. She glances at him and smirks mischievously, heading for the back room. She's wearing a purple blouse now and her hair is being held up by chopsticks. Topher spots her and she flirts her way into the back room, getting invited to play. Sasuke finishes his drink, and heads back towards the room not aware of her presence. He steps through the door and freezes before scowling in Miyuki's direction. She's still flirting with Topher, giving him pointers about poker, seemingly unaware that he's more interested in her cleavage. Topher looks up from staring to see the scowling Sasuke.

"Oh hey, Sas. We got another player….if that's cool with you."

Miyuki looks up from stacking her chips and see's Sasuke glaring daggers at her. She smiles at him. Sasuke sits heavily in the chair, still glaring and takes the deck. He deals the next hand and they get started.

"Miss Taisho. What do you do for a living? If you don't mind me asking." Seth asks.

Miyuki looks up for her hand, looking a little troubled, before taking two cards and setting them on the table, making eye contact with Sasuke.

"Why would I mind you asking? Two cards."

Sasuke's mouth was set in a grim line, and he tossed her two cards, which Miyuki picked up, adding them to her hand.

"I just got out of prison."

This comment caused the five starlets to look at each other. Topher had a look torn between impressed and nervous.

"Really?"

Josh took the initiative.

"Why were you in prison?" he asked.

Miyuki didn't look at him, taking a sip of the martini she had brought with her.

"I stole things"

"You stole things? Like jewels?"

Josh said this, setting down two cards. Rusty took them, dealing him another two, answering for Miyuki.

"Incan matrimonial head masks"

His tone was final, trying to end that line of conversation. Seth, however, was too curious for his own good.

"Any money in Incan matrimonial..?" he trailed off unsurely, looking at Miyuki. She was still locked in a staring contest with Sasuke, when she answered.

"Head masks. There's some."

"Don't let her fool you. There's loads, _IF_ you can move them. I'll take one" he said putting down a card, and taking another before continuing, glaring at Miyuki. "But you _can't_."

"My fence seemed confident" Miyuki shot at him, ignoring the glare.

"With cash you don't need a fence."

"Some people lack vision."

Sasuke chuckled. "Probably everybody in cellblock E" he said, finally hitting a sore spot. Miyuki scowled at Sasuke, her eyes turning icy at the insult. She tossed a couple of chips in.

"That's $500." She said, still glaring at Sasuke. He looked around at his students.

"Guys, what's the first lesson in poker?"

"Never bet on the—"

Topher cut Barry off. "No, uh, leave emotion at the door"

Sasuke smirked, nodding at him. "That's right. Today's lesson: How to draw out the bluff. That much money early in the game….I'd say she's holding nothing better than a pair of face cards." He didn't see the corner of Miyuki's mouth twitch.

"Barry?"

The man looked at his hand nervously, and was reaching for some chips but he pulled his hand back and put his cards on the table with a sheepish grin.

"Yeah, I fold."

Josh chuckled. "Don't worry. I'm game."

He picked up a stack of chips and set it in the center. "I will see your $500 and I will raise you another…" he set another stack of chips down, "$ 500 of my own."

Sasuke chuckled.

"That's a very handsome bet, Josh. But be careful; don't push her to high too fast. Keep her on a leash." He glanced at Miyuki again before looking to Holly, missing the subtle twitch once again. "Holly?"

"Call?"

"Call."

Holly nodded and put in $1000. "Call."

Sasuke grabbed a stack of his own chips and tossed them in.

"And I'll call."

Seth did the same, and Topher followed suit, bringing it back to Miyuki again. She tossed in the second stack of five hundred and pulled a wad of bills out of her purse, setting them in the growing stack of chips. "I'll see your $500 and raise you $2000."

Barry whistled, awed. Sasuke was, however, quite the opposite.

"Guys, you do what you like. That's a lot of money. I'm staying in. She's trying to buy her way out of her bluff. Josh?"

The man sighed before throwing in the chips.

"Two" he said, clapping his hands, and smirking at Miyuki. Holly followed suit throwing in her own chips.

"Thattagirl. Call" Sasuke said throwing in his own chips and smirking deviously at Miyuki. Seth called, then Topher did as well, once again, bringing it back to Miyuki, who kept a straight face the entire time. She picked up her hand, and sighed resignedly, enjoying the way Sasuke's smirk widened fractionally.

"Let's see them." The brunette said.

Miyuki set her hand on the huge pot.

"I'm not sure what the four nines does, but the ace…I think, is pretty high." She said, her face still completely straight. The four stars groaned in disappointment, sending half-pointed glares at Sasuke, whose smirk at turned into a grimace.

"Thanks for the tip on bluffing." Topher said getting up.

Miyuki's emotionless face turned into a devious smirk as she raked in her winnings.

* * *

They walked out of the club behind Topher, who immediately got swarmed by the media. Sasuke walked around him, Miyuki following him closely and they stopped at the curb. She pulled the huge wad of cash out and split it in half, handing it off to the black haired man. He smirked at her before walking off; knowing Miyuki would follow behind him. 


	4. The Job

AN: Once again, I do not own the plot for Ocean's Eleven, nor do I own any of the character's from Naruto. I own only Miyuki. Enjoy.

Miyuki relaxed in the leather covered seat of Sasuke's beat up Falcon Fortuna. The ride so far had been silent, neither of them saying a word. Sasuke sighed.

"God, I'm bored." He said.

Miyuki chuckled. "You look bored."

" I _am_ bored." Sasuke grumped as he pulled into the parking lot of a Japanese restaurant.

Miyuki took a sip of her tea after the waitress set it down. Sasuke waited till the woman had left the room before starting the conversation.

" How was the clink? Did you get the cookies I sent?"

Miyuki looked at him, amused.

"Why do you think I came to see you first?"

Sasuke knew she was up to something, she wouldn't have come to him if there wasn't _something._

"So tell me" he prompted her.

"It's tricky. It's never been done before. It'll need planning, and a large crew." She began.

Sasuke's eyebrows went up, and he took a sip of tea. Trust Miyuki to find the more interesting jobs.

"Guns?" he asked.

"Not exactly. High security. But the take—"

"What's the target?" he said, cutting her off.

Miyuki ignored the question. "Eight figures each" she finished.

Sasuke glared at her. "What's. The. Target?" he repeated.

Miyuki huffed, and took another swallow of tea before looking at Sasuke seriously.

"When was the last time you were in Vegas?" she asked.

Sasuke gave her an incredulous look. "You want to knock over a casino?" he hissed, wondering if she had lost it. He took another sip of tea as Miyuki held up three fingers, and Sasuke had to double-take. He snorted, looked at the three pale digits, and then snorted again.

Miyuki spread the blueprints out on the drawing board and cut the light on, showing the complicated plans of the target vault.

"The vault at the Bellagio" she said.

Sasuke grunted as they both leaned on the table, studying the floor plan critically. He didn't say anything for a long time, just looked at it, wincing a couple of times. Miyuki watched him, playing with the ring on her finger. Finally Sasuke spoke.

"Well, if I'm reading this right, and I'd like to think that I am….this is probably the least accessible vault ever designed." He said.

"Yep"

Sasuke kept looking at the plans, and his brow furrowed.

"You said three casinos?" he said, basically asking her to explain.

Miyuki pointed to two points on the plans.

"These feed into the Mirage and the MGM Grand, but every dime ends up there." She said, tapping her finger on the center of the actual vault. Sasuke nodded and froze.

"The Bellagio and the Mirage" he muttered. He stopped and gave Miyuki a flat glare.

"These are all Orochimaru's places"

Miyuki wasn't fazed by the look.

"Yes, they are." She said simply. She waited for a second.

"Do you think he'll mind?" she asked trying not to smirk at the scathing glare Sasuke gave her.

"More than somewhat" the brunette said sarcastically.

Sasuke straightened and rubbed his face, thinking and he promptly sat down and started doing something on his palm pilot. Miyuki watched him for a bit before sitting across from him and giving him a look. Sasuke sighed.

"You'll need at least a dozen guys doing a combination of cons."

Miyuki nodded, already running a list of possibilities over in her head.

"Like what, you think?" she asked.

Sasuke sat back and scratched the corner of his mouth.

"Well, off the top of my head…..I'd say you're looking at a Boesky, a Jim Brown…..a Miss Daisy, two Jethros and a Leon Spinks. Not to mention the biggest Ella Fitzgerald _ever._" He told her folding one leg over the other, looking out the floor to ceiling window. He laughed sardonically and looked back at his literal partner in crime.

"Where the hell do you think you'll get the money to back this?" he asked her seriously.

Miyuki crossed her arms and shrugged.

"Hit these three casinos, we'll get our bankroll. Orochimaru's got a long list of enemies."

Sasuke nodded, it was a true statement. Barely anyone liked the slimy, conniving bastard.

"But enemies with loose cash and nothing to lose?" he pointed out. He noticed the little smirk on her face before it dawned on him.

"Ahh….Jiraiya." he said smiling.

"Jiraiya" Miyuki agreed, matching the smile with her own. A bright light snapped on , blinding both of them.

"Hey!" a voice said sharply.

Miyuki shielded her eyes and Sasuke turned his head. Miyuki huffed.

"Oscar, lower it a bit, would you?" she asked. The guard lowered the torch and shrugged.

"Sorry. You guys done? Find what you want?" he asked.

Miyuki held up the large roll of floor plans for the Bellagio vault.

"I'm going to take these home for the night and make some copies, if that's allright" she purred, giving the guard a cute smile. He grinned at her, blushing faintly.

"Whatever you need sweetheart."

Sasuke fought down the urge to roll his eyes.

" I appreciate it Oscar" Miyuki purred handing the guard a wad of 100's as they walked past, heading to the elevator.

She noticed Sasuke looked troubled, while they were waiting for the elevator. His constant moving was driving her nuts.

"What?"

Sasuke looked at her.

" I need a reason, and _don't_ say money. Why do this?" he said, leaning against the wall.

Miyuki huffed and rolled her eyes at him.

"Why not do it?" she countered.

Sasuke just shook his head at her and she rolled her eyes again.

"Because yesterday I walked out of the joint after losing four years of my life and you're cold-decking _Teen Beat_ cover boys." She said.

Sasuke looked indignant, but couldn't argue with her. Miyuki continued.

"Because the house always wins. Play long enough, you never change the stakes, the house takes you. Unless, when that perfect hand comes, you bet big. Then you take the house." She said.

Sasuke looked at her amused, and she just stared at him. The corner of his mouth quirked up and he smirked.

"You practice that speech, haven't you?"

Miyuki snickered and nodded. " A little bit, did I rush it?" she asked looking at him meekly. Sasuke chuckled and the elevator dinged, the doors sliding open.

"Nah, it was good. The Teen Beat thing was harsh" he said as they stepped into the elevator. Sasuke leaned against the wall and Miyuki pressed the button for the ground floor and the doors started to slide close.

" I wonder what Jiraiya will say." He said thoughtfully. Miyuki stopped twirling the roll and looked at him like a deer caught in headlights.


	5. The Bankroll

AN: I figure I'm on a roll getting this done as fast as I am. Once again, I own nothing but Miyuki. Everything else belongs to their respective owners. Enjoy.

(Las Vegas, Nevada)

"You're out of your goddamn minds!" the white haired man shouted, glaring at the two across the table. He looked from one to the other.

"Are you listening to me? You are both of you nuts. I know more about casino security than any man alive. I invented it! And it cannot be beaten." He continued. The two con-artists across from him watched the older man pick through his salad.

"They got cameras and watchers, they got locks. They got timers, they got vaults. They got enough armed personnel to occupy Paris!" he said. Miyuki winced and Sasuke glared at some innocent shrubbery and Jiraiya held up his hands.

"Ok, bad example." He conceded.

"It's never been tried." Miyuki started calmly.

Jiraiya snorted.

"Oh it's been tried. A few guys even came close." Jiraiya said with a sarcastic smirk. He sat back.

"You know the three most successful robberies in Vegas? Number three, the bronze medal. Pencil neck grabs a lockbox at the Horseshoe. He got two steps closer to the door than anyone before. Second most successful robbery: The Flamingo in '71. This guy actually tasted fresh oxygen before they grabbed him. Of course, he was breathing out of a hose for the next three weeks. Goddamn hippie. And the closest any man has ever come to robbing a Las Vegas casino was outside Caesars in '87. He came. He grabbed. They conquered…..But what am I saying? You guys are pros. The best. I'm sure you can make it out of the casino. Of course, lest we forget, once you're out, YOU'RE STILL IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FUCKING DESERT!!" Jiraiya snapped.

"You're right. He's right." Sasuke said, turning to Miyuki, who went along with him.

"Our eyes were bigger than your stomachs." She agreed, giving in easily.

Sasuke nodded. "That's what it is. Ego."

Jiraiya snorted. "Yeah yeah, blah blah."

Miyuki wiped her hands on her napkin and she and Sasuke made to get up.

"Thanks for lunch." Sasuke said pushing his chair in.

Miyuki stuck her hands in her jeans pockets. "The calamari was delicious. Sorry to bother you."

Jiraiya frowned, not knowing he was being half-way conned. "Look, we go way back, and I owe you from the thing with the guy in the place, and I'll never forget it." He said.

Miyuki grinned at him. "Our pleasure."

"I'd never been to Rain Country" Sasuke agreed. They both turned away from the table and headed towards the house.

"Give Dominic your addresses. I got some remaindered furniture to send you." Jiraiya called after them. Sasuke turned back and nodded and they were almost to the house when Jiraiya stopped them.

"Look, just out of curiosity, which casinos did you geniuses pick to rob?" he asked.

They turned back, and Sasuke starting fussing with the lenses of his sunglasses. Miyuki looked to Sasuke, who nodded at her.

"The Bellagio, the Mirage, and the MGM Grand." She told him.

Jiraiya dropped his fork with a loud clang.

"Those are Orochimaru's casinos" he said, his tone deadly serious.

Miyuki gave Sasuke a little smirk and they stopped again and turned.

"Is that right?" Sasuke said, his tone innocent and curious making Miyuki's smirk widen.

"That's right."

Jiraiya got up out of his chair and stalked over to them.

"You guys….what do you got against Orochimaru?" he asked, glaring at the both of them, knowing now that he'd been hooked.

"What do you have against him, is the question." Miyuki said cheekily, earning her a pointed glance from Jiraiya.

The old hermit stuck his hands in the pockets of his robe.

"He torpedoed my casino. Muscled me out. Now he's gonna blow it up next month to make way for some monstrosity. I see what you're doing." Jiraiya snapped.

"What are we doing?" Sasuke said tonelessly.

Jiraiya pinned the two with a stern look.

"If you're gonna steal from Orochimaru, you better goddamn know. This used to be civilized. You'd hit a guy, he'd whack you. Done. But Orochimaru….At the end of it, he'd better not know you're involved. Not know your name. Because he'll kill you, then he'll go to work on you." He said.

Miyuki took a step closer. "That's why we have to be very careful, very precise."

"Well-funded." Sasuke added.

Jiraiya grinned at them. "You gotta be nuts too. And you're gonna need a crew as nuts as you are…..Who do you got in mind?"


	6. Assembling the Team

Author's Note: Once again, I own nothing but Miyuki. Everything else belongs to their respective owners. Enjoy.

_Miyuki Talking_

_Sasuke Talking_

Iruka's sitting on the other side of his bosses' desk coughing into a handkerchief. His boss is signing his transfer papers.

_Alright, who's in?_

_Iruka is in. Iruka has developed a severe case of bronchitis and is applying for a transfer to warmer climates._

A day later, Iruka's grinning in the backseat of a taxi, watching the scenery as the 'Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas' sign goes by.

_What about drivers?_

_I talked to the Hagane's yesterday._

_The Mormon twins?_

Utah County Raceway, Salt Lake City, Utah.

_They're in Salt Lake City, off the job. I get the feeling that their having trouble filling the hours._

A black toy truck pulls up to the starting line of the raceway being controlled by a brunette with a blue bandanna tied around his head. Locks of hair are falling over one eye and Izumo's holding a large RC controller. The real life version of the truck pulls up next to it, and Izumo's older brother Kotetsu is in the driver's seat, his spiky black hair hidden by the helmet.

Izumo grins at his brother and extends the antenna for the controller. Kotetsu rolls his eyes and shrugs at his brother.

"Waiting, sweetheart"

"Good. Go"

"Waiting on you"

"Why?"

"Go, little girl. You're like a little girl!" Kotetsu snipes.

"Relax, man" Izumo snaps.

"I'm gonna get out of the truck and I'm going to drop you like third-period French." Kotetsu threatened. Izumo gives him a shit-eating grin.

"Relax" he said smiling as he presses down on the RC trigger, causing the little truck to take off down the asphalt.

Kotetsu slammed on the throttle and he and the RC are racing neck and neck down the track. He looks over his dashboard to spot the little thing when an idea hits him. He smiles mischievously and turns the wheel slightly and runs over his brother's toy.

Izumo's mouth drops open as pieces of his truck scatter over the track while Kotetsu is laughing his head off in the cab of the truck. He scowls after his brother and lowers the antenna, quietly seething. He starts muttering under his breath.

"I'm not gonna kill Kotetsu, I'm not gonna kill Kotetsu…" he goes on and on.

Los Angeles, California.

Two men sit down on a park bench, obviously both part of a mafia of some sort. Neither are aware of the surveillance team watching their every move.

_Electronics?_

_Hinata Hyuuga. Hinata's been doing surveillance work for the FBI mob squad._

A young purple-haired woman is making notes in a book, while two agents sit nearby watching the mafia guys on a screen.

_How are her nerves?_

_Not so bad that you'd notice._

"Move in a little bit" one of the FBI guys say. The other moves his hand to the control getting ready to mess with the camera.

"P-p-please d-don't t-touch that." The young woman stutters.

The agent looks at her.

"Why not?"

Hinata gulps a little and her face hardens into a glare.

"D-do you see me grabbing your g-gun out of your h-holster and waving it around?" she says bravely.

The other agent rolls his eyes.

"Dude, Radioshack. Relax" he said seriously.

Hinata swallows again and meekly goes back to her notes but glares at the agents while they aren't looking.

She goes on break a little later, but ends up getting tangled up with a woman on rollerblades and her dog. Across the street Sasuke and Miyuki are watching her, both sipping on expressos.

"Munitions?" Sasuke asks, making notes in his own notebook.

Miyuki's watching Hinata. She takes a sip of her drinks.

"Asuma Sarutobi" she says.

"Dead"

"No shit. On the job?"

"Skin cancer" Sasuke says matter of factly.

Miyuki gives him a look and plays with her cup.

"Huh. Did you send flowers?" she asked.

Sasuke smirked.

"Dated his wife for a while." He told her. Miyuki just shook her head and contemplated her mental list of contacts. She turns to Sasuke.

"Deidara's in town." She states.

Sasuke nods a little then pauses and looks at her frowning.

"There might be an issue with availability."

_L.A. at night. No Name Bank._

A man leads a cable away from a vault door. The door has C-4 charges in little shapes stuck to it. Theres a bird, a dragon, a cow, and all sorts of animals, stuck 4 inches apart around the door. The man hands the cable to a young blonde who smirks and attaches it to a hand trigger.

"Allright assholes, hang on to your dicks, yeah. Geijutsu wa bakuhatsu!" he says gleefully.

The charges go off sequentially around the door. Deidara gets up and goes over to the door and it swings open easily, the locks falling to the ground. Deidara grins and rubs his hands together and does a little spin before stepping into the vault. The alarms go off and Deidara frowns and rolls his eyes. He turns to his crew.

"God damnit. You assholes, I give you one tiny fucking job to do, and you cock it up. Cock it right up!" he snarls.

The bomb squad drags Deidara out along with his comrades. The blonde is scowling, and blows the hair out of his face and gets pushed against the car and questioned by the officer, who asks if he set any more charges in the vault.

"Wait a fucking second. Are you accusing me of booby-trapping?" he says indignantly.

"Well, did you?"

"Booby trapping isn't Deidara's style, isn't that right Dei. Peck. ATF." says Sasuke walking up. He's dressed like a detective and he flashes a badge to the cop and throws a cigarette to the ground. He puts the badge away quickly into his pocket.

"Let me guess. Simple C-4 mainliner, back wound, quick fuse with a drag under 20 feet?"

Sasuke moved closer, and Deidara gives him a mock-annoyed look.

"Let me ask you this. Did you search this scumbag for booby traps on his person? I mean _really _searched him. Not just for weapons." He asks the cop.

The cop stutters a little, and get's ready to do as told and Sasuke waves him off with a smirk.

"Stand back" he tells him before slamming Deidara into the car.

"Great, here we go." The blonde says rolling his eyes. Sasuke pauses for a second and looks at the cop.

"Go find Griggs. I need him." He says.

"Who?"

"Just find him will ya!" Sasuke snaps.

The cop high tails it and Sasuke slips something into Deidara's cuffed hands and leans over the blonde, pretending to search him.

"Hey Dei."

"Sasuke"

"Can you put something together with what I gave you?"

"Done already"

Sasuke stands him up and starts walking away.

"Miyuki around?"

"She's waiting around the corner" Sasuke tells him.

"Fuckin' A. It'll be nice working with proper bad guys again, yeah."

The car Deidara had been pressed against starts smoking and the cops start panicking while Sasuke and Deidara run off. Deidara starts laughing, looking back at the beautiful explosion.

"Bet they weren't expectin' that shit, yeah?"

San Diego, CA

Sasuke and Miyuki are sitting in the audience of a circus show, watching Chinese acrobats perform.

"Which one's the Amazing Lee?"

"The Chinese guy." Sasuke says as if it's obvious.

Miyuki studies all eight of the Chinese performers and turns and glares at Sasuke before sitting back.

"Who else is on the list?"

"He is the list."

Miyuki watches the man in the green full body leotard and a bowl-haircut climb easily up a pole.

"I dunno, that doesn't look all that diff-"

Lee back flips from one pole to the other, holding on upside down before jumping down, flipping in mid-air and landing in a crouch. He got up and bowed to the crowd. Miyuki's mouth had dropped open and Sasuke was surpressing his snickers while sipping on his soda.

"We got a grease man." She says stunned.

"We got a grease man."

They leave once the show's over, heading over to Sasuke's green Fortuna.

"We're gonna need Tsunadei for this." Miyuki said.

"She got out of the game a year ago."

"What, she get religion?"

"Ulcers"

"You could ask her."

"Hey, I could ask her." Sasuke mimicked starting the Fortuna and pulling out.

St. Petersburg, FL

A middle aged woman with blonde hair picks up her tickets at the counter. She takes her paper and walks out to the track looking around. She looks at the paper really quick and continues to her seat, seemingly not noticing Sasuke leaning against a pillar watching him. Sasuke pushes himself away from the pillar and follows after Tsunade. He walks up behind the bench where Tsunade's sitting. The woman peels an orange, waiting for the race to start, her brown eyes focused on the fruit, ignoring Sasuke who was now leaning on her bench.

"I saw you at the paddock before the second race, outside of the men's room when I placed my bet. I saw you before you even got up this morning. You're getting slow Sasuke." The blonde said monotonously.

Sasuke smirked.

"How've you been Tsunade-san?"

"Never better."

"What's with the orange?"

"I need to increase my vitamin intake."

"Why don't you take vitamins then?"

Tsunade stopped peeling the orange and glared at the brunette over her shoulder.

"Did you come here to give me a physical?" she snapped. Sasuke just smirked and smacked her shoulder with his paper.

"Box seats. Come on."

They sat down in the box that overlooked the track. The handlers were loading the greyhounds into the launches.

"So are you going to go ahead and tell me? Or should I just say no and get it over with."

Sasuke stirred his fruit parfait and took another bite, still smirking.

"Tsunade, you're the best there is. You're in Cooperstown. What do you want?"

"Nothing. I got a duplex now. I got wall-to-wall and a goldfish. I'm seeing a nice man who works the jewelry counter at Macy's. I've changed."

A horn went off and the gates opened and the greyhounds took off around the track.

"People like us don't change Tsunade-san. We stay sharp or we get sloppy. But we don't change."

"Quit conning me, boy."

"That your hound way in the rear?"

"He breaks late, everyone knows this." Tsunade says, starting to get a sinking feeling she usually got when she bet on something, meaning she was probably going to lose as usual. She finally got fed up with the dogs _and_ with Sasuke.

"You going to treat me like a grownup at least? Tell me what the scam is?"

Sasuke adjusted his suit jacket and leaned over to whisper Miyuki's plan into Tsunade's ear. He straightened up and set a airplane ticket into Tsunade's lap while the blonde stared at him wide-eyed. He patted her on the shoulder, smiled, and walked away. Tsunade sat there for a moment, staring at the plane ticket like it was a cobra, and she tossed a couple of Rolaids in her mouth.

Back in Las Vegas, a few days later.

Miyuki and Sasuke are watching T.V. Sasuke's laying on his folded arms on the bar, watching the screen and Miyuki's looking at the list sipping another Martini and glancing at the screen as they announce the fight that's going to be hosted at the Bellagio. Miyuki puts her drink down and smacks Sasuke's shoulder. The black haired man just blinks.

"And Tsunade makes ten. Ten should do it, don't you think?"

Sasuke doesn't answer her, he just watches the tv.

"You think we need one more?" she asks questioningly. Sasuke continues his silence, blinking again and staring at the screen. Miyuki takes another sip of her martini and sighs.

"You think we need one more." She states. Sasuke still treats her to silence and Miyuki nods.

"Allright, we'll get one more."

Chicago, IL

Miyuki's riding on a subway train. She's been watching a blonde all afternoon. The blonde is dressed up like a college student, and is pretending to study a textbook in his hand. The train jolts, knocking the blonde into the man beside him. Miyuki smirks watching the blondes hand sneak the mans wallet out of his trenchcoat and slip it into his own. The blonde apologizes for knocking into the guy who doesn't even acknowledge the bump. Miyuki looks a little impressed. She get's off at the same stop he does and follows him up to the street, and bumps into his shoulder, walking quickly as if she's in a hurry. The blonde doesn't even feel the slender fingers reach into his pocket and snag the wallet, leaving a business card in its place. Miyuki snickers internally and heads to a bar to wait on the blonde.

A block or so away, Naruto Uzumaki reaches into his pocket to see what the wallet had in it, but can't find it. He digs deeper and his hand closers around the business card. He pulls it out, seeing the back side where Miyuki had written 'Nice Pull, Emmet's Pub.' Naruto flipped it over to the other side that had raised black block letters spelling out Miyuki Taisho. His mouth drops open and he looks back at the subway station, before heading to the pub.

Naruto walked in and spotted the infamous black-haired thief sitting at a table, drinking a whiskey double on the rocks. She looks up, blue eyes dancing.

"Hello Naruto. Whose is this?"

"Who are you?" Naruto said, a little peeved.

"I'm a friend of Minato Namikaze's." Miyuki answered, pulling a airplane ticket out of her coat pocket and putting it on the table, pinning the younger blonde with a stern look.

"You're either in or you're out. Right now"

Naruto looked a little intrigued and he sat down at the bar.

"What is it?"

"It's a plane ticket….a…job offer, if you will."

"You're pretty trusting pretty fast."

"Minato has a lot faith in you."

Naruto shrugged non-commitally.

"Father's are like that."

Miyuki gave him a surprised look and Naruto chuckled.

"Oh, he didn't tell you did he? He doesn't want me trading on his name."

"You do this job, he'll be trading on yours. Don't, and you can go back to feeling up stockbrokers." Miyuki said. She looked over to the bartender and raised her hand off the ticket to get his attention.

"Can I get the check please?"

She turned back to Naruto, putting her hand back on the ticket when she saw it in his hand. She looked down at her hand, sitting on the bare table and Naruto was reading the destination on the ticket. Miyuki looked impressed.

"That's the best lift you've made yet."

Naruto ignored the statement and looked up from the ticket.

"Las Vegas, huh?"

"America's playground."

Naruto gave her a foxy grin as the waiter brought her the check.


End file.
